Writing
&
Language
Development
Center
Developing supporting arguments
ometimes you don’t know what else to say; just adding more examples may not develop your ideas.
Development takes some hard thinking and imagination. The writer below is stuck and doesn’t know what
else to say after adding some examples:
S
More money should be set aside for the research into adult stem cells because all the stem cell therapies
now being used have come from adult stem cell research. Adult stem cells are used in bone marrow
transplants and to treat or cure spinal cord injuries, heart damage, Parkinson’s disease, and leukemia.
She’s stuck and needs more development. She starts asking herself some questions:
Brainstorming Questions
What is similar?
What is different?
Who would benefit?
Who would suffer?
Brainstorming answers
Adult stem cells are similar to embryonic stem cells because they both can be
“reprogrammed” to become many kinds of tissue—induced pluripotency.
The funding question is similar to when you have a new invention that works, and you invest
more money in developing it—like faster computer chips or better solar cells. In
general, you put your money where you will get a return on your investment.
Adult stem cells are different from embryonic stem cells because they don’t change to
different tissues as easily.
Adult stem cells are more easily controlled in the lab while embryonic cells are unpredictable
& cause tumors
Adult stem cells are not as controversial, while many consider embryonic cell research
morally and ethically controversial
Patients would benefit because
 They save money. They don’t have to pay drug companies for patented “products”
derived from embryos.
 They are safer because there’s no threat of rejection or risk of cancer.
Taxpayers benefit because tax dollars that fund this research would almost immediately
produce useable therapies.
Drug companies would not be allowed to patent a patient’s own stem cells, so would not be
able to claim ownership and sell them back to the patients
Patients suffer if they have to pay for the anti-rejection drugs needed with embryonic cells
Makers of anti-tissue rejection drugs might lose sales if we don’t use embryonic cells
The writer ends up with a lot more ideas to develop her point:
Besides being practical, adult stem cell treatments are safer and cheaper for patients, who do not
experience tissue rejection or have to take expensive anti-rejection drugs. It also benefits taxpayers,
whose money funds much of the research, because they would see useable results much sooner. While
both adult and embryonic stem cells can be “reprogrammed” into many different kinds of tissues, adult
cells are more easily controlled in the lab, while embryonic cells have often produced unpredictable and
tumor-like growth. Plus, since the source of many embryonic cell lines is abortion tissue, embryonic
stem cell research is drawn into the ethical and moral controversy surrounding abortion. The losers
would be the drug companies, which could lose sales, because they would not have the right to patent
our cells in order to sell them back to us.
Brainstorming questions to help you develop ideas
If you are stuck for how to develop your ideas more fully, try brainstorming with some of the questions below:
Type of inquiry
To compare/contrast
To find causes/effects
To examine my
experience and the
experience of others
To consider different
points of view
To consider a
counterexample
To judge if something
is good/bad
To consider the
benefits/burdens
To evaluate the
practicality/possibility
of something
Questions
What is similar? How is it similar? How similar is it?
What is different? How is it different? How different is it?
What are the general causes? What are the general results?
What are the specific causes in this case? What are the specific results in this case?
What if it were different? What would be the results?
Could there be unintended results?
Is it possible? Is it probable?
Has it happened before?
Is it likely to happen in the future?
What do others think about this?
What is the opposite view?
What if it were different?
What might cause it to be different?
Is it good? What makes it good? Is it right? What makes it right?
Is it bad? What makes it bad? Is it wrong? What makes it wrong?
Who would benefit? In what way?
Who would suffer? In what way?
Do the benefits exceed the burdens?
Will it work? What needs to happen to make it work?
What are the possible consequences? What are the probable consequences?
What are the possible side effects? What are the probable side effects?
Is it desirable? Is it undesirable?
You can also use these brainstorming questions to clarify your thoughts on a particular topic:
Writing prompt: Is the American Dream attainable? Or is it
just a myth?
What is different? What is similar?
Could there be unintended results?
Has it happened before? Is it likely to happen in the future?
Socialism is different because most people are not permitted
to rise above their circumstances.
Richer countries have more opportunity, poor ones less
If people seek mostly material gain, they might take
advantage of others to get what they want (greed)
My grandfather came to America and started a business
with very little money.
Regulations make start-ups so costly that it’s a lot harder
now.
After brainstorming, this is the claim this writer decided to make:
The American Dream is not dead yet. Even though greed is part of human nature, and regulations
impede entrepreneurs more than ever, we still have many opportunities at every socio-economic level to
work, make money, choose wisely, and have a better, more educated, and secure life.
Contributed by Rosemary McKeever
This Yuba College Writing & Language Development Center Tip Sheet is made available under a Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0